JANET LAURENCE

Laurence’s work extends into major public commissions and site-specific projects that have shaped her international reputation. She has created immersive environments integrating art, architecture, and ecology in locations including Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, London, Singapore, Germany, and Japan. Notable commissions include Spells for Weather at Bundanon Art Gallery (2023); Cliff at Curtin University (2022); and The Breath in Glass in Sydney, alongside earlier landmark works such as Waterveil for Melbourne City Council; Elixir for the Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennale; and Edge of the Trees at the Museum of Sydney (with Fiona Foley). Often developed in collaboration with architects and designers, these projects explore the poetics of place through living systems—water, air, plant life, and light—transforming public spaces into contemplative sites that foreground environmental awareness, memory, and the interconnection of human and natural worlds.

Janet Laurence’s achievements have been recognised through numerous national and international awards, fellowships, and residencies. Highlights include the 2023 Art and Science Finalist at Falling Walls, Germany; the 2022 Bowness Prize Finalist in Melbourne; and the 2020 Australian Antarctic Arts Fellowship. She has received multiple New Work Grants from the Australia Council for the Arts (2019, 2009, 2003); the John Glover Art Prize in 2013; and the Alumni Award for the Arts from the University of New South Wales (2010). Other honours include the Churchill Fellowship (2006); the Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Residency (1997); the Alice Prize (1996); and the Royal Australian Institute of Architects Lloyd Rees Award for Urban Design (1995, for First Government House Place in collaboration with Fiona Foley and Denton Corker Marshall Architects). Earlier recognitions include the Kedumba Drawing Award, Lake Macquarie Art Prize, Pring Prize, Woollahra– Waverley Art Prize, and Gold Coast City Art Purchase Award, reflecting a long-standing career of artistic excellence and engagement with site, ecology, and urban environments.

Her work is held in major public, corporate, and private collections worldwide, including the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Art Gallery of South Australia, Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, the National Gallery of Australia, the National Gallery of Victoria, the Queensland Art Gallery, and the Tarrawarra Museum of Art. Internationally, her work is held by the World Bank Collection, the Seibu Collection in Tokyo, Soho House in the UK and Amsterdam, as well as corporate collections such as Macquarie Bank, the Australian War Memorial, and numerous private and regional collections.

Courtesy Cassandra Bird